Set the World on Fire
by Beautiful Kaos
Summary: As a child Naru learned that though there were many different kinds of pain, they all burned. This is a rewrite of Lessons in Pain. NOTE: This is up for adoption. A/N inside.


Disclaimer. I do not own Naruto nor am I making any profit from this fanfic.

Warnings. Abuse. Neglect. Attempted rape. Lemons. Dark Naru. Smart Naru.

Pairing. Kurama/FemNaru

 **Key.**

"this is talking"

'this is thinking'

 _"this is Naru and Kurama mindspeaking"_

. . . . .

Naru Uzumaki was born on October 10th in the village of Konohagakure.

For the villagers it was a day of particular sorrow and great triumph. It was the day the Kyuubi attacked the village, leaving its homes in ruins and its people in a state of terror and devastation. The numbers of the dead were growing by the hour.

The Hokage, who was the most powerful ninja in the hidden leaf had lost his wife to the beast only hours after giving birth to their daughter. He knew the demon had to be stopped at all costs. Even if that cost meant sacrificing his life and his daughters life to rid his home of the raging fox. And so he gave his life to the Shinigami and sealed the powerful Kyuubi no Kitsune into the belly of his daughter, leaving the newborn baby girl, an orphan.

. . . . .

As a child Naru learned that though there were many different kinds of pain, they all burned.

Hunger.

The orphanage she was sent to mear days after her birth had taught her that lesson. The matrons started off giving her meals that were always a bit smaller and not quite as good as they gave the other children. Sometimes they would 'forget' to give her her breakfast or dinner. Her lunch hour being conveniently taken up by chores. She was made to do the dishes, wash the windows, scrub the floors, and fold the laundry. If she didn't finish them then she was sent to bed without supper and given even more chores to complete the next day. Her stomache ached so often with hunger that she didn't know what it felt like to not feel the burning sensation inside her.

Loneliness.

Naru would have given anything to have a friend at the orphanage. She was surrounded by children who were laughing and playing together. She wanted to be like they were. Happy and carefree. She had tried several times to join the others in their play, only to be shoved aside or glared at. But mostly they acted like she wasn't even there at all. That was what hurt her most. At least if they smacked her they were acknowledging she was there. But when they ignored her very existance it made the ache in her chest throb and her eyes burn with tears. It made her feel like she didn't matter enough to even be insulted. After a while she gave up hoping for a friend.

Cold.

It was the middle of November and several of the older boys at the orphanage were rough housing and had broken a figurine that belonged to the head matron. The boys had been quick to divert the blame to Naru, who had been in the room with them sweeping the floors. Though Naru tried to defend herself, the matron resolutely ignored her and grabbed her by the arm, and dragged her outside to a small shed and tossed her inside. The matron slammed the door shut and locked it behind her. For three days she was locked inside, without even a single blanket or coat to keep her warm. Her fingers and toes burned fiery hot as she tried desperately to rub some warmth back into them, but the cold made it hard to move, or even to sleep. She worried she would never feel warm again.

Abuse.

One day a man came to the orphanage. He was a tall and fierce looking man with sandy blond hair and icy blue eyes. The man whose name was Shotaru told the matrons that he was looking to adopt a child. Preferably a girl. There were fourteen girls in the orphanage not including Naru. The matrons brought those girls out while Naru was (as usual) made to stay in the girls dorm room. Ryuuhei gave the girls a thourough lookover but shook his head at each one. He told them he was looking specifiacly for a blond haired blue-eyed child. Now, there were four girls in the orphanage that had blond hair. And there were three girls that had blue eyes. Naru was the only one who had both. The head matron eyed the man carefully and, seeing the dark look in his eyes, decided. She sent the girls back to their room and bade them to send Naru out.

Shotaru took one look at the girl and saw the whisker marks that were the testament of the demon sealed within and knew this was the child he had been looking for. He took Naru home with him that very night.

Shotaru was a man in his early thirties living alone. He had been happily married once, but lost his beloved wife to the demonic fox's rampage on his home. The loss of his wife had turned him into a hard and bitter man. When he learned that the demon had been sealed away into an infant he vowed one day he would find the child and make it suffer as he himself had suffered. So began his search.

* * *

Naru could hardly believe she had been adopted. The matrons had told her many times that no one would ever want her and so was hidden away when prospective parents came along. And now here she was, with a new father and she had been picked from among all the other girls. A smile bloomed on her face as she walked towards her new home. She had never been happier.

* * *

Naru was miserable. Shotaru was certainly not the kind of father she had always dreamed of having. She was pretty sure that fathers were not supposed to punch and kick and whip their children, but as she had never had a father she couldn't be certain.

Naru thought she must be doing a bad job of being a daughter and so one day while Shotaru was at work she decided to clean the house, just like she had done at the orphanage. Maybe that would make him love her.

When Shotaru returned home to clean swept floors, a clean sparkling kitchen, freshly washed clothes, and shining windows he was marginally pleased. At least the demon brat was good for something. When he went to his room and found the quilt his wife had sewn by hand washed and folded on his bed he grew angry. He remembered the nights they had sat together talking and making love under that quilt. And the filthy demon had dared to touch it after she was the one who had taken his wife away from him. He would not let her get away with it.

He found Naru in the small room he had given her. She was sitting on the floor (as she was given no bed) humming softly to herself. She looked up when he entered and smiled hopefully. The smile made him angrier. How could she smile, knowing what she'd done? He jerked her up by the collar of her shirt and backhanded her across the face. Tears sprung instantly to her eyes. He sneered and threw her into the wall.

"Take off your shirt and lay down on the floor" he ordered.

She looked at him fearfully and did as he told her to. He pulled off his belt and snapped it across her skin. He struck her several more times, drawing blood with each burning strike, until she begged him, sobbing, to stop. He did not listen and instead struck her again. After a few more blows he finally stopped to catch his breath. Leaning against the wall he admired his handiwork, dimly hearing the gasping sobs of the girl and ordered the child to shut up lest she warrant another beating. She silenced herself immediately, shivers wracking her small frame.

"Don't ever enter my room again, demon." He glanced around the room, seeing the blood splatters on the walls. "And clean this mess up." He turned and walked out the door.

Nearly a year had gone by and even with her accelerated healing abilities Naru had a hard time just making it through each day. Shotaru thrived on see her bleed and seemed to get more cruel with each beating. Naru no longer cried when he did this, for it only made her adopted father more irate. And so when her punishment over she would curl up in the corner and stare blankly at the wall, desperately willing herself not to cry.

Once, Naru had actually churned up the nerve and asked Shotaru why he called her Demon and not Naru and why was she always being punished when she did nothing wrong. Shotaru had snarled and cursed at her, telling her she was a demon and she was being punished for all the evil she had done. Afterwards he gave her a beating so severe that it took Kyuubi four days to heal. Though she still didn't have any answers she knew better than to ask questions again.

* * *

Though Shotaru had at first refused to allow Naru to attend the academy, the third hokage intervened and Naru was gladly spending her days being taught in the way of the ninja.

Though she knew it was foolish, Naru thought that, just maybe, she might make a friend at the academy. She always made sure to say hello to everyone and call them by their names, but most often her greeting was ignored. Three of the kids, Haruna Sakura and Yamanaka Ino and Inuzuka Kiba, had no problem showing Naru just how unwelcome she was, and tormented the lonely blond in every way their young minds could think of. From name calling, to tearing her clothes, to cutting off snips of her hair, to putting maggots in her bento, to shoving, kicking and smacking her, Naru suffered it all. She didn't bother to look for anyone to help her, her other classmates found her treatment to be very entertaining and her sensei Mizuki told her pointedly that if she couldn't handle a few school bullies, then she could never make it as a ninja. So Naru bitterly endured.

* * *

Years pass and on her tenth birthday Naru spent most of the day hiding in her room, awaiting the return of her tormentor. He would be at the festival today and would not be home until later, or so she hoped.

Shotaru arrived home mid-afternoon swaying slightly and smelling strongly of sake. He was in a surprisingly good mood. He had thought of a new punishment to use on the demon. He couldn't wait to try it out. He could practically hear the screams now. He gave a sinister grin as he walked towards the girls room.

Upon entering he spied the little demon huddled into a corner, curled tightly into a ball. She looked up timidly when she heard his footsteps stop in front of her. He glared at her silently for a moment watching the tremors race through her body.

"Strip." He commanded.

Hands shaking, Naru did as he ordered.

"Lay down on the floor."

He watched as she laid face down on the brown speckled carpet and pulled off his belt. He gave a few practice swings enjoying the flinches the brat gave as he did so. The first strike came down on the girls lower back. Next he struck a little higher. Another strike, and another, and another, till her back was red with welts and wet with blood.

He threw the belt belt aside, deciding it was enough. He had better things in mind to do.

"Today," he spoke, "We are going to try something new."

Naru felt a bolt of fear run through her at the words. He sounded positively _joyful_. That scared her more than anything.

"Get on your hands and knees."

Naru thought about refusing, but a sharp kick to the ribs convinced her otherwise. She climbed to her hands and knees.

The man came a knelt down behind her, running his fingers along her back, humming when they were thoroughly wet with blood.

Naru hissed when she felt his fingers gliding along the open wounds. The fingers stopped for a moment and tensed violently when the fingers returned, sliding down her back and along her buttocks. She tried to scramble away only to be yanked right back. The fingers slid down further, reaching the place she knew he should not be touching and gasped loudly as a finger slid into her. She jerked, trying again to get away, only to be smacked back down. Another finger slid in beside the first and Naru cried out. She couldn't let him do this, he had to stop. Her struggles renewed.

She kicked at him, thrashing wildly until he lost his grip. Naru jumped to her feet and made a dash for the door when she felt a hand grasp her ankle and jerk her to the floor. She screamed as he climbed on top of her and scratched at his face and eyes. One of her fingers sunk into his eye socket and he roared, backhanding her across the face and she felt something crack. He had broken her jaw.

Black spots danced across her vision and she stilled for a moment, dazed. When she came to Shotaru had his hands grasped around her neck, squeezing.

"You will pay for that, demon."

'Please, somebody, help me.' she prayed. 'please.'

She choked, trying to get some air in her lungs. As darkness closed in on her once again Naru found herself standing in some sort of a sewer, and in front of her was a tall golden gate. It was so dark behind the gate she couldn't see a thing. Moving closer she pressed her face to the bars, trying to get a glimpse of what was on the other side.

A growl echoed throughout the room and the glowing red eyes of giant fox appeared. Naru stared at the great beast in awe.

"You are the Kyuubi no Kitsune." she stated.

"I am." the demons voice rumbled loudly.

"Where are we?"

"We are inside your mind."

"My mind." she paused. "So this is why they call me a demon."

"Yes. I was sealed within you on the day of your birth."

"I see." she glanced at the seal upon the gate. "What would happen if I removed the seal from the gate?"

Kyuubi eyed the girl who had become his prison. "If I were stronger and you released the seal, I would tear my way from your body, killing you and regaining my physical form. Then I would exact my revenge and destroy this village for daring to seal the great Kyuubi no Kitsune into a pitiful human. But because I have not yet regained my full power, if you were to pull the seal then our forms would merge. And we two would become one."

"And if we did merge, what would happen then?"

"Your form would change. You would truly be part demon. My instincts would be your instincts. My power would be your power. Our souls would be tied together for all eternity. And as long as I live you would not die"

"And what would happen to you? Would you gain a form of your own?"

"I would.

"Then I will remove the seal. And we will both live."

"Yes, remove the seal, but know that I still intend to decimate this village."

Naru's blue eyes darkened as she thought of all the torment she had suffered throughout the years, always wishing for someone, anyone to give her a kind word, a gentle touch. And all she had ever received was blood and pain. She looked into the demonic red eyes and said. "I will help you."

Kyuubi let out a rumbling laugh. "I think you may make a worthy demon yet."

She smiled. "I suppose we shall find out." And with that Naru grasped the paper seal and jerked it off.

And then there was pain.

She screamed.

* * *

Naru had never felt pain like this before. All consuming and never ending. Not even the beatings compared to this. Liquid fire burned within her veins. Her organs felt as though they were being ripped out. Her teeth, hair, and nails ached. Her skin felt like it was being melted off and regrown, only to be melted off again. Her eyes felt like they would explode from her skull. It seemed as soon as one pain was over another immediately took its place. There was no escape from it. It went on like this for hours, until she thought she would go mad from the pain.

And then it was over.

* * *

Naru awoke.

She was in her room in Shotaru's house. Shotaru was on the floor, his throat and stomach ripped open.

She looked around the room trying to figure out what happened.

"I killed the filthy human."

Naru jerked her around towards the door where the voice had come from. Sitting there on its haunches was a fox. It was about three foot tall with a sleek blood red coat and crimson eyes. The tips of his tail and ears were black.

'"Kyuubi?" she whispered.

"Obviously." the voice drawled.

"Oh. I thought you'd be smaller. But I guess even as a kit you are still quite powerful."

Kyuubi gave a pleased growl and nodded. "You are right of course. Now come, let us leave this place, I will train you in all things demon and otherwise," the fox bared his teeth in a sort of wolfish grin "then when we have gained enough power you and I will return and destroy this village."

Naru's smile answered his. "Yes. I want to watch them burn."

* * *

 **A/N:** This is a rewrite of Lessons in Pain. **It is up for adoption.** Pairings must be either MaleKurama/FemNaru or Gaara/FemNaru, although i am willing to hear you out if you think Naru will be better off with someone else. This is smart, powerful, dark Naru. No godlike Naru, no stupid Naru. No naive Naru. One other thing I want is for Naru to have long hair. Sorry but I like her better with long hair.

If anyone wants to adopt this then please send me a PM with a sample of your writing so I can determine who will be best suited to write this. I will let everyone know as soon as I do who adopts this story. Thanks for your time.


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